Looks like we only got 2 seasons to watch Larry Fitzgerald play for Pitt. It appears that the NFL will let him in early.

Two seasons into what already has been a standout college career, Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald early this week will be declared eligible for the 2004 NFL draft, league sources have told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

Because he is a true sophomore, Fitzgerald is not eligible for the draft based on the NFL rule that prevents players from entering the draft until three NFL seasons have “elapsed” — language that has evolved into a league policy stating that players must be three years out of high school.

However, the NFL is verifying that Fitzgerald indeed earned enough credits at a military school he transferred to during his senior year of high school, sources have told Mortensen. In that case, Fitzgerald would meet the league requirement of being three years removed from his prep graduating class, and thus be eligible to enter the draft.

Well, it would have been nice if he could have stayed, but I can’t argue with him going pro. There will be new QB under center, a new WR coach (should be a new offensive coordinator, but Walt doesn’t see that as necessary), loss of the starting RB and TE. Just a lot of changes. Add in, of course, the fact that he is a projected Top 5 pick, and there is absolutely no reason to stay.

I can only wish him well in the pros, and hope the Eagles trade up for him. That would be sweet.

Here in hoopieland, the biggest news in recent weeks is the not-entirely-understood dismissal of WVU’s top scorer, Drew Schifino. Until a couple weeks ago, all seemed well with Schifino — he’d received the usual glowing articles in the local paper; everyone testified about what a great kid he was. Then, suddenly, he was off the team, a couple days after making some give-me-the-damn-ball type comments to the media. The Morgantown Dominion-Post seemed to lean toward Schifino in their coverage, hinting that Coach John Beilein had perhaps prematurely terminated Schifino because he was a hold-over from the previous coach’s era. Whatever the case, the Mountaineers have since dropped two in a row, to Virginia Tech and Providence.

I, of course, immediately wondered if Schifino, a Pittsburgh guy, would transfer to Pitt. And would Pitt want a kid who was kicked off another team, a kid they didn’t recruit? On the other hand, Schifino was averaging 20.1 points per game this season and had scored in the double digits in a NCAA-record 48 consecutive games before his streak came to an end in a loss to Notre Dame earlier this month. (That was when he told reporters that he wasn’t getting the ball enough under Beilein.)

Last week, Schifino told the Post-Gazette that he has “always wanted to play for Pitt.” The Dominion-Post is not clear on whether or not such a transfer would be easy, according to NCAA rules.